A typical transverse flux motor (TFM) is a type of brushless electric motor and, when compared to a radial flux motor, may provide higher torque and efficiency at lower speeds. A transverse flux motor typically includes a stator and a rotor that substantially surrounds the stator. The stator may include one or more filed windings that are commutated to produce rotating magnetic fluxes to drive the rotor. The magnetic field inside a transverse flux motor is three-dimensional in nature and thus usually requires complex numerical simulation techniques (e.g., finite element analysis) to predict or estimate the magnetic field distribution.
A conventional transverse flux motor has a housing that includes multiple magnetic flux concentrators extending radially toward the center of the housing. Corresponding to each magnetic flux concentrator, there are two rotor permanent magnets attached the interior wall of the housing along the circumference direction. The magnetic flux concentrators typically have the form of a rod or bar and are attached to the interior wall of the housing by, for example, using adhesives or mechanical fastening techniques or other similar manufacturing processes for joining two components. The rotor permanent magnets are also usually attached to the interior wall of the housing using similar manufacturing processes. The positioning of the magnetic flux concentrators or the rotor permanent magnets usually exhibits larger variations or tolerances in conventional transverse flux motors due to the larger tolerances associated with such manufacturing processes. As a result, the efficiency of conventional TFMs is typically lower than desired and thus runs contrary to the intended purposes for achieving higher efficiencies of using transverse flux motors.
Therefore, there exists a need for a transverse flux motor that includes multiple magnetic flux retention features in the rotor and multiple magnets in both the rotor and the stator, while providing the desired or required positioning precision for the rotor, the stator, or various magnets in the stator or the rotor.